How Social Media Can Help You Land That Admin Job

by Alex A. Kecskes

In these tough economic times, it can be a real challenge to stand out as the ideal candidate for that plum admin job. After sending out tons of resumes, handing out entertaining and informative video disks of you begging for the job, and dealing with overworked recruiters who are buried in resumes, you might feel it's pretty hopeless. But all is not lost. There may be one tactic you haven't tried—social media.

For starters, you can have you own branded blog, which you can use to promulgate your wisdom and knowledge of a particular industry or subject. Publish enough of these blogs and you'll become a recognized expert with a following. Ideally, you should link and dovetail your blog to such popular social media sites as LinkedIn, a place where industry pros meet and swap "ebusiness cards." A personally branded blog can serve as you CV of sorts, letting industry people know about your skill sets and background.

LinkedIn recently added its LinkedIn Recruiter feature, which allows companies to scout the Web for top talent, sans recruiters. LinkedIn Recruiter looks at a candidate’s gender, skills, age, and the caliber of his or her social and business presentation skills. HR managers can cull much information about a candidate without spending a dime on headhunters. It's also a lot faster. HR managers can evaluate dozens of candidates in about the same time as a typical headhunter's phone call.

To a lesser degree, Facebook can also be used to convince HR managers you're the standout candidate they've been looking for. Here, it helps to have a professional Facebook page—one separate from your personal page that shows you sitting in a hot tub slightly wasted with your significant other.

Alex A. Kecskes has written hundreds of published articles on health/fitness, "green" issues, TV/film entertainment, restaurant reviews and many other topics. As a former Andy/Belding/One Show ad agency copywriter, he also writes web content, ads, brochures, sales letters, mailers and scripts for national B2B and B2C clients. Please see more of his blogs and view additional job postings on Nexxt.